JPS60216651A - Communication equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attain sure communication even when a part of the equipment is failed by allowing a main control means to test plural transmission/reception systems and using a normal transmission/reception system according the result of test to attain communication. CONSTITUTION:Independent G3, G2 MODEMs 4, 5 and a tonal counter 6 are connected to the post-stage of a network controller switching the connection of lines and detecting a call signal from a communication line between an accessoried telephone set 2 and a FACSIMILE equipment, and the MODEMs 4, 5 and the counter 6 are controlled by a microprocessor 8 controlling the operation of the entire equipment. In case of the communication, the processor 8 checks the operation of the MODEMs 4, 5 and the counter 6 to use always a normal unit thereby controlling the transmission and receiving operation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field] The present invention relates to a communication device, and particularly to a communication device having a plurality of transmitting and receiving systems using different communication methods.

[Prior art]

Conventionally, an example of this type of device is a C(, G(group) l-
A facsimile device that can use any of the G3 facsimile modes is known. In such a device, a communication mode to be used is determined in a pre-communication procedure according to possible communication modes of the other party.

However, this type of device is not configured to independently use the functions of modems of different systems such as G2.03, and the selection of communication mode is determined depending on the communication modes available on the other party. Therefore, if one of the modems breaks down, normal communication becomes impossible.

[Objective] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a communication device that can reliably perform communication using a usable part even if a part of the device breaks down.

[Example] The present invention will be described in detail below based on an example shown in one drawing. However, the following description will be made using a facsimile machine as an example.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a facsimile machine adopting the present invention.

In the figure, the reference numeral 1 indicates a communication line such as a telephone line, which is connected to a network control unit (NCU) 3.

The network control device 3 performs an operation of switching the line connection between the attached telephone 2 and the facsimile device after the network control device 3;
Alternatively, a call signal from a communication line is detected.

An independent G3 modem 4, G2 modem 5, and tonal counter 6 are connected to the subsequent stage of the network control device 3. G
The G2 modem 4 and the G2 modem 5 may be any standard modem known in the art. The tonal counter 6 mainly uses G1. This is used to analyze procedural signals such as G2.

These modems and tonal counters are operated by a microprocessor (Central Control Unit: CP) that controls the operation of the entire device.
U) Controlled by 8. The microprocessor 8 is connected to a memory 11 in which transmitted and received data, control programs, etc. are stored.

The image data to be transmitted is read by a reading section 7 similar to a known device configured using a CCD line sensor or the like. The received image data is recorded by a recording unit 9 configured using a thermal printer or the like. Furthermore, an operation section 10 is connected to this facsimile machine for inputting various operations and displaying errors.

In this embodiment, during communication operations, the microprocessor 8 checks the operations of the G3 modem 4, G2 modem 5, and tonal counter 6, and controls the transmission and reception operations so that normal units are always used.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show flowcharts of control procedures during transmission and reception operations of the microprocessor 8.

When transmitting an image, the microprocessor 8 first tests the operation of the G3 modem 4 in step 321 of FIG.

The check routine of this microprocessor 8 is shown in FIG.

In step 341 of FIG. 4, a loopback test of the G3 modem 4 is performed. That is, predetermined data is sent to the modulation section of the G3 modem 4, taken out via the demodulation section, and it is determined whether the same data can be obtained. If a normal result is obtained in this test, the process moves to step 343, and if an abnormality is found, the process moves to step S46.

In step S43, the G3 modem 4 is caused to transmit predetermined data, and this data is input into the tonal counter 6.

Then, in step 344, it is determined whether the tonal counter 6 has detected a carrier. If the tonal counter 6 detects the carrier output from the 03 modem 4, the process moves to step 345.

On the other hand, the microprocessor 8 determines the test results in steps 345 and 346 described above in step S22. If the G3 modem 4 is normal, the process moves to step S23, and if an abnormality is found, The process moves to step S24.

In step S23, the G3 modem 4 indicating the operating state of the G3 modem 4 is
A modem flag is set to rlJ, and the same flag is reset to "0" in step S24.

Subsequently, in step 325, the G2 modem 5 is tested. The procedure for this test is shown in FIG. In step 351 of FIG. 5, the processor 5a causes the 02 modem 5 to transmit a predetermined tone.

Subsequently, in step 352, this tone is detected using the tonal counter 6, and it is determined whether the same tone has been detected. If the same tone cannot be detected, the process moves to step 358.

Next, in step S53, PH3 (phase) is sent to the G2 modem 5.
The signal is output, and the tonal counter 6 is output in step S54.
Check whether the carrier of this signal could be detected. If no carrier is detected, the process moves to step 358 described above.

Subsequently, in step S55, the G2 modem 5 is made to output an image signal of a predetermined pattern, and in step 356, it is checked whether the carrier of this signal can be detected. If no carrier is detected, the process moves to step 358 described above.

If all of the above test steps are affirmative, the process moves to step S57.

On the other hand, the microprocessor 8 performs step 326 in FIG.
The test result in step S57.358 above is checked, and the value of the flag is set in step S27.52B based on the result. If the test result is normal, the 02 modem flag is set to rlJ in step S27, and if an abnormality is found, the same flag is set to "rlJ" in step S28.
0”.

Subsequently, in steps 329, 5210, and 5211, the status of each of the above flags is determined.

In step S29, it is determined whether the G3 modem and G2 modem flags are both "1", that is, whether both the G3 and G2 modems are normal.

In step 3210, the G3 modem flag is
It is determined whether the 2 modem flag is rQJ, that is, whether the G3 modem is normal and the G2 modem is abnormal.

In step 5211, the G3 modem flag is "0" and
It is determined whether the 2 modem flag is "1", that is, whether the G3 modem is abnormal and the G2 modem is normal.

If step 529 is affirmative as a result of the above determination, the process moves to G3/G2 dual mode transmission in step 5215. Here, according to the possible modes of the other side, G3
Transmission is performed in the G2 communication mode.

If step 5210 is affirmed, step 521
4, and performs a transmission operation in G3 mode.

If step 5211 is affirmed, step 521
3 and performs a transmission operation in 02 mode.

If steps 329 to 5211 are all negative, an error is displayed in step 5212 using a predetermined display or buzzer of the operation unit 10.

When all of the above operations are completed, the device returns to the standby state again.

The transmission operation is performed as described above.

In addition, in the case of receiving operation, the microprocessor 8
Perform the actions shown in the figure.

Steps S31 to 5311 in FIG. 3 are the same processes as steps 321 to 5211 described above.

If step S39 is affirmed, that is, G3, G2
If both modems are normal, step 5315
Proceed to G3/G2 based on the possible modes of the other side.
Performs dual mode reception. If step 5310 is affirmative, that is, if the G3 modem is normal and the G2 modem is out of order, the process moves to step S314 and reception is performed only in the G3 mode. If step 3311 is affirmative, that is, if the G3 modem is broken and the G2 modem is normal, the process moves to step S313 and the G2
Reception is performed only in mode.

If all of steps 339 to 5311 are negative, an error is displayed in step 5312.

As described above, the operation of the transmitting/receiving system is automatically checked, and communication can be performed in a possible communication mode according to the result.

Additionally, the test results for each modem may be stored in memory. If the test is performed when the power is turned on, etc., communication can be performed in the optimal mode by simply checking the memory contents without having to perform the test every time communication is performed.

In the above example, a facsimile machine that uses two modes, G3 and G2, is used, but in a device that uses Gl or mini-fax mode, each modem is equipped with a processor and tested, and the modem is selected according to the results. may be selected.

Furthermore, although a facsimile device has been exemplified above, the present invention is of course applicable to communication devices that use a plurality of different transmission and reception methods. In that case, it goes without saying that the communication method may be other than the facsimile communication method exemplified above.

[Effects] As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, in a communication device having a plurality of transmitting/receiving systems using different communication methods, the main control means tests each of the transmitting/receiving systems, and performs a test according to the result. Since the configuration uses a normal transmitting and receiving system to perform communication, it is possible to provide an excellent communication device that can reliably communicate using the available parts even if a part of the device breaks down. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a facsimile apparatus employing the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 5 are flowcharts illustrating control procedures in the apparatus shown in FIG. l...Communication line 2...Telephone 3...Network control device 4...G3 Modem 5...G2
Modem 6... Tonal counter 7... Reading section 8... Microprocessor 9... Recording section 10.
...Operation unit 11...Memory

Claims (1)

[Claims] A communication device having a plurality of transmitting/receiving systems using different communication methods, wherein a control means tests each of the transmitting/receiving systems, and performs communication using a normal transmitting/receiving system according to the test result.